According to the law, on the basis of family ties, members of the nuclear family may enter Finland: that is, the spouse and minor children of an adult, or the parents and siblings of a child.
Receiving any decision that affects life plans causes inner trepidation. When moving to another country, the anxieties multiply. Why do some people get citizenship or a residence permit quickly, while others have to be patient?
To move to Finland, there must be a reason. It can be study, work, or family ties. The decision on a residence permit application is made by the Immigration Service.
The decisions of the Immigration Service are not influenced by the applicant's gender or age. So what does influence them? “For example, when applying for a residence permit on the basis of studies, you need to have been accepted into a Finnish educational institution. In addition, you must have sufficient funds for living, health insurance, and a valid passport,” explains Verna Leinonen, a media relations specialist at the Finnish Immigration Service.
“Our work seems mysterious because we cannot publicly comment on decisions made regarding private individuals. Sometimes it would be good if the Immigration Service could participate in discussing specific cases, but we cannot: all personal information is confidential,” notes Leinonen.
But the Immigration Service does not hide information about itself. “There are no secrets in our activities. It is regulated by laws. The Aliens Act establishes the grounds for issuing a residence permit, and the Nationality Act determines who may be granted citizenship,” says Verna Leinonen. In 2015, 17,796 residence permits were issued, and 8,281 people received Finnish citizenship.
Who hasn't heard about the Russian grandmothers who were not allowed into Finland? But even in this case, the Immigration Service acted according to the law. And the law is strict: only members of the nuclear family can enter the country for permanent residence, i.e., the spouse and minor children of an adult, or the parents and siblings of a child. Others, such as the mother of an adult, are granted a permit only in exceptional cases.
“There are many countries in the world where the concept of family differs from Finland, and a wider circle of relatives is considered family members. We understand that our approach may seem unfair, but in Finland we act in accordance with Finnish law,” explains Verna Leinonen.
Many people do not know that Finland is interested in business development. You can set up a company in Finland and on that basis apply for a residence permit. “The Immigration Service cooperates with other government agencies, and in this case, the Immigration Service makes the decision together with the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY),” Verna explains. In practice, this means that the ELY decides whether such a business is needed in the region where the entrepreneur wishes to move.
“Typically, applications are processed in the order they are received. The processing cannot be expedited by calling the office or paying extra money. If clarifications need to be requested from the client, processing of their documents will take longer. The best way to speed up processing is to provide all the necessary information right away, and if the Immigration Service has additional questions, to answer them as quickly as possible,” reveals Verna Leinonen.
If a client disagrees with the decision, they can appeal it in court. The court will assess whether the Immigration Service applied the law correctly, but there are few errors in the service's work: in 2015, only 2.7% of applications were returned for reconsideration by court decision.